Sustainability Spotlight: Crayola

May 31, 2022 | As The Toy Association continues to track sustainability trends across the industry, it is highlighting the environmental commitments of members. This week’s Sustainability Spotlight is on Crayola and its commitment to renewable energy.

For Crayola, the journey toward sustainability has been a decades-long evolution behind the scenes − from recycling and limiting waste in its factories to leveraging solar power to produce children’s art products. The latter initiative first took shape in 2009 when the company installed a 30,000-panel solar farm at its facility in Forks Township, Pennsylvania. In 2019, Crayola upped this commitment with the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from accredited U.S.-based solar energy projects to cover 100 percent of the energy it uses to produce the entirety of its U.S.-manufactured products. To date, that’s equated to three billion crayons and 700 million markers a year and has helped save the equivalent of 25 metric tons of carbon (enough to power more than 3,000 homes annually).

Crayola has also invested in renewable energy projects to support its own community. Through an agreement with Energy Power Partners, the company currently supports eight local solar and landfill biogas projects, with plans to bring on two additional landfill biogas projects in the coming months. These projects have helped bring an additional 35 million kWh of renewable energy to the grid and increased the proportion of it that runs on renewable energy.

“Crayola is dedicated to powering up kids’ creativity through our playthings, and for us, it’s not only about the art and stationery tools and innovative toys that matter, but also how we make them,” said Glenn Price, vice president of global sourcing, supply chain & sustainability at Crayola. “We are focused on making a positive impact on the world to ensure a brighter, cleaner future for all to play in.”

To learn more about Crayola and its green initiatives, visit Crayola's website.

To have your company's sustainability efforts and environmentally focused products featured by The Toy Association, contact Jennifer Lynch.